POST-GAME: Skinner & Desharnais savour Oilers victories

EDMONTON, AB – Vinny and Skinny celebrate the winny.

The fan-favourite caption was coined by Oilers social media manager Baillie Scheetz earlier this season, but the post-victory routine shared by Stuart Skinner and Vincent Desharnais dates all the way back to their 2019-20 campaign with the ECHL's Wichita Thunder.

The goaltender from Edmonton was in his second professional season after his hometown team selected him 78th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft, looking to advance up the affiliate ranks and earn a promotion to the AHL's Bakersfield Condors.

The towering defenceman from Quebec was fresh off a four-year NCAA tenure with Providence College, aspiring to make a positive start to his pro career with the organization that took a flyer on him in the seventh round of the 2016 Draft.

The two prospects developed a bond and started celebrating wins with an emphatic high-five followed by a bear hug. They carried their victory tradition with them as they advanced first to the Condors and then to the Oilers, when Desharnais earned his call-up last January to join Skinner midway through his impressive Calder-finalist rookie season.

"It started back in Wichita when we played in the ECHL," Skinner explained when asked about the celebratory ritual following Tuesday's 4-1 final over the Blue Jackets for the team's 14th straight win.

"It was just kind of a moment where him and I are very tight, obviously, because we were able to kind of move our way up from the coast to the American League to the NHL. It's just something that we love to do. We're incredible friends and we love to celebrate the wins when we can."

The duo has been celebrating a lot of them lately, so often in fact that Skinner is now the proud owner of the longest win streak by a goaltender in Oilers history with 11, surpassing Hall of Fame legend Grant Fuhr with his 27-save performance vs. Columbus.